Super Italian

From the day she started cooking professionally, Giada’s fundamental formula for making meals memorable has not changed: good cooking = Technique + Ingredients + Ambience. In writing her eleventh (yes, eleventh!) cookbook, she shows that this same formula is the key to good health when you choose ingredients that promote wellness, cook them simply, and eat them joyfully. In her skillful hand, a pantry of Italian superfoods is the starting point to better health and longevity. 

We all know that some foods can cause inflammation, weight gain, and other maladies that lead to chronic illness, but we rarely think about the fact that the flip side is equally true: A diet rich in a variety of nutrients can make a world of difference in how you look and feel. Super-Italian helps the reader stock their shelves with healthy Italian superfoods and create meals that are nutritionally dense, supportive of health, and still downright craveable. Super-Italian starts with a deep dive into fourteen Italian staples that qualify as superfoods and then gives us 100 recipes for using them in meals that feel completely indulgent. Among the superfoods featured are:

Olives + olive oil: Umbrian Chicken Stew with Green Olives, Kale Salsa Verde, and Grilled Swordfish with Olive Bagna Cauda
Beans + Legumes: Artichoke Dip with White Beans, Crunchy Roasted Butter Beans, and Creamy Cannellini Beans
Cruciferous vegetables: Winter Beans and Greens Soup, Orecchiette with Almond Pesto and Broccoli Rabe, and Green Gazpacho
Small fish: Caesar Aioli, Pasta Assassina, and Anchovy Pasta with Walnuts
Vinegar: Balsamic Chocolate Truffles, Grilled Endive Salad with Citrus and Pancetta, and Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola and Balsamic
Tomatoes: Sicilian Pesto, Tomatoes Gratinata, and Calabrian Pomodoro

By using carbs and fats mindfully and amplifying vegetables, lean proteins, and flavor-boosting superfoods at every meal, Giada shows how easy it is to eat like an Italian. With 100 stunning photographs of finished meals and their superfood components, Giada teaches us that when you start with truly excellent, minimally processed ingredients, simply prepared, you can have your pasta and eat it too!